


Reel Rumble

by darlathecyborgpluviophile



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Chill, Fishing, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Gen, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-11 07:20:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12930294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlathecyborgpluviophile/pseuds/darlathecyborgpluviophile
Summary: Nanako attempts fishing.





	Reel Rumble

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aragacki](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Aragacki).



> Happy birthday to a great friend of mine!!!!!! I hope this fills the Nanako and Yu 'fluffy nothings' void in your heart, haha.
> 
> Also the title is from the FFXV fishing theme, because there isn't a designated fishing song in P4 and I couldn't think of a more fitting one DX be careful with working titles, kids.

At the very beginning of September, things are still.

The surrounding trees are trapped in that awkward place of not quite summer anymore but not autumn yet—leaves have begun to fall, here and there, but for the most part they remain green, rustling in the slight breeze of early evening. You sit on the skinny, old dock at Samegawa, one leg dangling in the cool, dark water, waiting out any fish that might be interested in the bait you have. Somewhere behind you is the sound of bare feet slapping across grass, and Nanako's squeal as she plays.

God, nothing is biting tonight. You pen a mental reminder to visit the Shiroku Pub next time Dojima's out, then file it away, as not to take yourself out of the idyll of the moment.

The dock suddenly jerks underneath you, as if the loose boards are trying to kick you off and into the water.

"Big bro!" Nanako shouts, then plops down beside you on the old wood. Her legs don't quite reach the water, but if she stretches, she can dip her toe in.

You give her a smile, and begin to reel the line in.

"No, don't! You can keep fishing, dad says it's not time to go yet. I just wanted to watch!"

You twist back to look at Dojima, sitting back on the quilt you brought, surrounded by food Nanako and yourself picked out at Junes. He has his copy of today's paper, and peeks over it when he notices you trying to look at him.

"How's the fishing going?" he shouts across the distance.

Your smile turns into a grin.

"Terrible!"

Dojima seems to shrug, and brings his newspaper back up.

You twist back around, and stand up.

"Oh! Are you done?" Nanako asks, standing in addition.

You grip your pole just under the reel, and yank the line out of the water. The thin line is still wet, causing it to glisten and sparkle as the sun hits it.

Nanako goes wide-eyed.

"Wow!"

The end of it lands just beyond the wooden dock, caught in the grass. You walk back to pull the hook out of the dirt, and Nanako comes with you.

"That's a huge ladybug," she says, pointing towards your discarded bait. "Do the fish really like to eat those?"

You nod. "They like all kinds of bugs, around here."

"I didn't know fish ate bugs." She cocks her head, slightly.

You pick the ladybug up, and slide its middle back through the fishhook.   
She looks between you and the rest of the line you gather from the grass.

"Do you want to try it?" you ask.

"Fishing?"

"Yeah."

She gasps, and looks towards Dojima, who peeks over his newspaper again.

"As long as she doesn't get pulled into the water, sure."

She claps her hands together, giggling.

"Ahh! I'm excited!"

You take her back to the edge of the dock. The two of you stand as you recast, then reel in the line a bit. The first step to keeping Nanako on solid ground is to not cast as far as you would normally. When that's taken care of, you hand the pole to her.

"Here."

Nanako reaches forward, and grips just underneath the reel. You hover your hand just underneath hers, in case she drops it.

She doesn't, though. Her brown eyes narrow in concentration, and she presses her lips together.

She holds it perfectly. You move your hand, and bring it down to your knee when you crouch beside her.

The two of you stay, frozen like that, for several minutes.

"Um...big bro?"

"Yes?"

"When are the fish going to bite?"

You laugh so quietly, the rustling of the trees cover up any noise you make.

"Sometimes they don't. That's the thing about fishing: it requires diligence."

"Oh."

"If something does bite," you point to the arm on the other side of the reel, "that's how you pull it in."

Nanako nods, and returns her determined gaze to the river.

Eventually she sits down, holding the pole between her legs.

"Didn't you catch a huge fish one time?" she asks.

Ah, the River Guardian.

"Yeah. I showed it to the old guy who wanders around here. Did you see it?"

She shakes her head. "No! But it sounds cool! That guy is my friend Aito's grandpa, and he said that the Guardian was three times his size!"

You nod solemnly. "That's pretty crazy."

"And you caught it, because you're awesome!"

You huff another laugh that gets swallowed by the breeze.

"I appreciate your saying that, Nanako."

"Was it hard? I bet it was, this thing is pretty heavy..."

You think back; it _had_ been an ordeal. It allowed you to forge an unbreakable bond with the Fox, though, and some of your best Personas have come from that.

"It was challenging, but the reward made it worth it."

"Someone rewarded you?" she gasps. "What did you get?"

Crap. Can't tell her about the Velvet Room, after all.

"I got...the reward of a job well done."

Nanako's face freezes with a quizzical look, before melting into a sort of pout.

"Were you disappointed?"

"No. I'm proud I did it."

You wonder if the fish is still in the TV World, with all of the other supplies you keep there. It likely hasn't started rotting, considering none of the snacks you've brought in have...

"Yu, Nanako? We should get going, it's almost dark."

You hear Dojima folding his paper up and rising before you even look. Nanako obviously wants to jump up and run towards her dad, but upon remembering the fishing pole in her hand, dithers.

You take it from her with a soft, "Go help clean up," and start pulling the line out of the water and putting everything away.

The three of you walk back home, with Nanako between yourself and Dojima.

"We should do this again!" she exclaims. "I had a lot of fun on our fishing picnic."

"Me too." You squeeze her hand.

"I'm glad I had the time to do this," Dojima says. "It's nice to not worry about things sometimes."

Though you don't say anything, you couldn't empathize more. Fighting Shadows and saving the town is satisfying and rewarding on its own, but it's moments like these that remind you exactly why it is you protect people.

"Next time can we invite some of your friends? They're a lot of fun!" Nanako squeezes your hand.

"Are you sure you don't want to invite someone your own age?" Dojima scratches the back of his head.

"Yup!"

You glance at him, to gauge his reaction. It's not too disapproving, but there's that twist to his mouth that he gets whenever he thinks something is suspicious.

"I'll see what I can do." You squeeze her hand back.

Nanako looks toward you, and beams brighter than the sun ever could.


End file.
